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September 19, 2011 in City
Then & Now photos: Motorcycle cops
Early traffic squads’ bikes came with sidecars and blankets
April 1946: Part of the traffic squad of the Spokane Police Department gathers for a newspaper photo. The squad was made up of 20 officers, 16 on motorcycles. The chief of the department, Gerald S. Swartout, is at right in the civilian hat and coat.
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The motorcycle cops of the 1940s rode year-round, said retired officer Jack Latta, 88, who started patrolling Spokane streets in 1952. When winter came, Latta said, officers added sidecars for stability, canvas fairings for warmth and lap blankets that would direct engine heat to an officer’s legs. Increased comfort through a long day in the saddle is the biggest difference between early bikes and modern ones, said Dan Hite, 78, a longtime mechanic who maintained the city’s motorcycles, including Latta’s. Today, most city, county and Washington State Patrol officers ride either a modern Harley-Davidson V-twin or a Honda 1300 cc bike, with state-of-the-art equipment. Latta recalls when radios were first mounted on bikes. Because the bike’s generator didn’t produce much power, he rode with his transmitter off. When he got a call from dispatch, he would rev the engine and switch on the transmitter to respond. Hite has a fond place in his heart for Latta, who took impeccable care of his bike, especially the engine. Hite later learned that Latta would add a squirt of oil to each tank of gas. “That should be a lesson for everybody,” said Hite.
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TheRoyLarsen on September 19 at 6:57 a.m.
These motorcycles were more reliable than Jim Nicks.
lewis8457 on September 19 at 7:10 a.m.
a motorcycle cop pulled a u turn right in front of me the other day causing everyone to hit their brakes while copper sped off for donuts and safeway.
ya gotta love following cops in this town i got from whitworth to wellsley in under 5 minutes last night riding the bumper of a SPD car.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on September 19 at 8:42 a.m.
Whitworth to Wellesley in 5 minutes is easy. I do it all the time.
TheRoyLarsen on September 19 at 8:03 p.m.
Lewis was with Jim Nicks. They went forward for a while. Then went backward. Then forward again. It takes a while to do that.